February 2010 Cincinnati Region S.C.C.A. Chairman of the Board Bill Niemeyer, Jr. 513-683-9244 niemeyer65@hotmail.com Regional Executive David Santel 513-205-3198 david@cincypics.com Assistant Regional Executive EB Lunken 513-831-9660 Secretary Bryan Schafer btschafer@yahoo.com Treasurer Dan Chambers 513-459-9505 danielchambers@gmail.com Membership Chair Bryan Schafer btschafer@yahoo.com Member-at-Large/PDX Chair Brian Walker briax7@yahoo.com Member-at-Large Chipp Swindler 513-861-4416 rupich@fuse.net Member-At-Large/Solo Chair Andy Stanford Stanfordmotorsports@fuse.net Member-At-Large Rodney Sizemore 513-766-9111 Rodney@Sizemore.net Member-At-Large Tom O Gorman tomo.racing@yahoo.com Race Chairman Todd Cholmondeley 513-528-9217 tefkatt@aol.com Chief Registrar Starla McCauley roamingstars@att.net Web Master Andy Stanford Stanfordmotorsports@fuse.net Competition Chair Bret Frank 937-855-2723 BretLFrank@US.Schneider.com Editors Allen and Jill Tomey 513-574-9207 jtomey@cinci.rr.com Next Newsletter Deadline: Tuesday, March 2 Send articles to Jill and Allen Tomey at jtomey@cinci.rr.com Remember the regular monthly meeting will be at the beautiful Mill Race Banquet Center with an earlier 8:00 starting time. Board Meeting at 6:30 pm. RE-Port By Regional Executive, David Santel I will begin my second report as RE on a rather somber note. Our club was hit hard this month with the passing of several great members. See obits for Paul Prill, John Pfetzing and Judy Cowie elsewhere. The racing community also lost John McGill, longtime manager of Nelson Ledges Road Course, Bob Bruce a long time course marshal at Mid-Ohio and finally, Ken Brown passed away on January 30th due to complications with diabetes. All of these members will be greatly missed, and the thoughts and prayers of the members of our club are extended to all of their families. For those of you that missed the Annual Awards Banquet this year at the Mills Race Banquet Center, you missed an extremely good time! The banquet featured a great slide show by our resident photographer, Jeff Loewe (that may or may not have included rather incriminating photos of your new RE ). D. Scott Bourne manned the microphone for the evening and provided everyone there with great entertainment. My personal thanks go out to Bryan and Lisa Schafer, as well as Brian Walker and Jill Roeder, and everyone else involved in putting on the banquet. Your hard work paid off extremely well. The banquet was a blast, so thank you one more time! Congratulations to all of our members that received awards. Speaking of amazingly fun gatherings, I had the chance to attend the SCCA National Convention for the first time this year. Jerry Cabe has an excellent writeup about our time out there later in this newsletter. I had a blast doing everything from losing my fun money at the blackjack tables (no thanks to John the Dealer) to taking home first place at our go-kart get together at the Pole Position Raceway. Dave, that all sounds like a good time, but did you actually attend any of the convention sessions? you may be asking yourself. Indeed I did! I must say that attending this gathering of almost 500 of our club s most dedicated members was an extremely humbling experience. It was absolutely amazing to see just how many people have been putting in massive amounts of effort for decades, just in the name of good fun for our peers that all share a love of sports cars. Most of the annual award winners and hall of fame inductees have been dedicated to the SCCA since long before I was even born, which definitely put things in perspective! On a similar note, it is worth taking a moment for special recognition: To any member of our region who has ever volunteered your time to make our region better, whether it be flagging a corner at Mid-Ohio, shagging cones on a day you re not autocrossing, setting up and working the current car show, or working behind the scenes to send out this very newsletter, thank you from the bottom of my heart for the time you volunteer. None of us are paid on a regional level. We all do this for the love of the sport. I would never be able to lead this region forward without the support of my Board of Directors and our active members. You are the life and blood of this club, and we couldn t do it without you! Thanks again! We ll keep making it easy, and you keep having fun!
Solo Spring Training Is Back!! Who All Interested Solo Competitors In GLDiv What Solo Spring Training. Learn about T/S Tech Sound Control Solo Safety Steward Training Course Design Registration/Waivers and more When - Saturday, March 20, 2010 9 AM 4:30 PM Where Andersen Logistics 3333 Mesilla Court, Indianapolis Why - Great chance to see your friends, make new friends, get ready for the 2010 Solo Season! And the best news It s FREE!!!! Pre-registration is requested but not required. Contact Velma Boreen for more information and to pre-register. wiznby1973@yahoo.com or 317-706- 8969 The 411 on Car Shows CinChronizer Advertising Rates Business card-$200/year* 1/6 th Page -$300/Year* Quarter Page -$500/Year* Classifieds(3 Months) are free to members Send to Jill Tomey (jtomey@cinci.rr.com) Picture from Cavalcade of Customs - we are lookin good! Workers needed for Auto Expo The Auto Expo is February 25-28th. We still need workers to help with the show. I need confirmations from people that want to help work the show so I can issue you Exhibitor Credentials. All ads Expire 12/31 & are Pro-rated by the month. Contact Dan Chambers danielchambers@gmail.com for payment info. Pictures from Daytona 24 Please contact Brian Walker briax7@yahoo.com (513)519-3876 if you can help. See you at the show!
Cincinnati Region Sports Car Club of America Annual Awards Jim Johnston Driver of the Year (Aka National Driver of the Year) In 1958, Jim Johnston became Cincinnati Region s first National Champion. The trophy is awarded each year to the Region s driver who has achieved the highest level of success in road racing (be it amateur or professional) of any Cincinnati Region driver. 2009 Tom Patton 2008 Tom Patton 2007 Jason Henderson 2006 Tom Patton 2005 Tom Patton 2004 Chuck Brewer 2003 Tom Patton 2002 Tom Patton 2001 Bill Niemeyer, Jr. 2000 Bill Niemeyer Jr. The Solo Rookie of the Year Award 2009 Not Awarded 2008 Tom O`Gorman The Ray Thompson Cup Regional Driver of the Year (Aka Regional Driver of the Year) Former Regional Executive and race driver, Ray Thompson established this trophy to recognize the achievements of our Regional drivers. This award is not presented every year. 2009 Rick Deerwester 2008 Doug Seim 2007 Stephen Jenks 2006 Rick Dierwester 2005 Shawn Slattery 2004 not awarded 2003 Joe Fisher 2002 Robin Goins 2001 Jennie Morsch 2000 Tim Reed 1977 Danny May The Robert King Memorial Donated by Mrs. Robert (Liz) King in memory of her husband, this was first awarded in 1957, the oldest of our Regional awards. The King Memorial is awarded to the Region member who accumulates the most competition points from Cincinnati Region sanctioned competitive events (races, rallies and solos). 2009 Scott Giles 2008 Claire Frimming 2007 Jerry Cabe 2006 Jerry Cabe 2005 Paul Williams 2004 Scott Tengen 2003 Bryan Schafer 2002 Kurt Niemeyer 2001 Brenda Miller 2000 Caleb Miller The Bill Niemeyer Award Road Racing Rookie of the Year (Aka Road Racing Rookie of the Year) This is awarded to a driver who has a distinguished rookie season as determined by the award s donor. This award is not presented every year. 2009 Michael Strahm 2008 Not Awarded 2007 Tim Floyd 2006 not awarded 2005 Kurt Niemeyer 2003-2004 not awarded 2002 Brad Jaeger 2001 Rick Gilhart 2000 Dave Kienlen The Joel Williams Award Joel Williams was a Cincinnati Regional Executive and a Chief of Timing & Scoring for many years. With this trophy, the current Regional Executive recognizes a member who has given exceptional service to Cincinnati Region over an extended period of time. 2009 Anne & Bill Niemeyer Sr. 2008 Judy Cowie 2007 Philip Osborn 2006 Dennis Barnes 2005 Scott Tengen 2004 Tony Horning 2003 Fred & Ruth Zacharias 2002 John Peterson 2001 E.B. Lunken 2000 Bruce Wolff The Gordon B. Miller Trophy The Gordon B. Miller Company, a supplier of trophies to the region, donated this award. The award is given annually to the Region member who accumulates the most participation points in SCCA events. 2009 Brian Walker 2008 Jerry Cabe 2007 Robert Bax 2006 Kurt Niemeyer 2005 Kurt Niemeyer 2004 Roy (Chipp) Swindler 2003 Scott Tengen 2002 E.B. Lunken 2001 Caleb Miller 2000 Jeff Loewe The Bert Hatfield Memorial Award This award was, for many years, given to a Cincinnati Region member who excelled in Timing & Scoring. After not being presented through much of the 1980 s, the award was expanded to include all raceworking specialties. 2009 Todd Cholmondeley 2008 Jason Briggs 2007 Jeff Loewe 2006 Todd Cholmondeley 2005 Bob & Judy Cowie 2004 John Peterson 2003 Roy (Chipp) Swindler 2002 Susan Boesel 2001 Todd Cholmondeley 2000 Tom Phillips
May They Rest In Peace Paul Prill Paul Prill's true passion was motor sports, he was an active member of the (SCCA) since 1968. Prill competed in many cars throughout his sports car racing career, most notably a highly modified 1962 Lotus Super Seven from 1972 to 1994. As with all of the other volunteer organizations in which he participated, he took leadership roles, serving as the Regional Executive of both the Detroit and Cincinnati Regions. After retiring from driving in 1994, he continued to serve as car owner and chief advisor of the Lotus for son Eric, VP of Marketing for SCCA, Paul and his wife of 44 years, Patricia (Pilarski) Prill were both huge assets to Cincinnati Region. Mr. Prill was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1993. Memorial donations may be made to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in his name at www.nationalmssociety.org or 1-800-FIGHT MS Judy Cowie It is with great sadness we must announce that Judy Cowie passed away Thursday February 4 th at Hospice of Cincinnati. Judy and her husband Bob joined the SCCA in 1967 and have been very active participants ever since. Best known for the Flagging and Communications skills they exhibited at a wide variety of Professional and Amateur road racing events over a forty two year period. Judy was the 1997 and 2008 Recipient of Cincinnati Region SCCA s Joel William s Award for Exceptional Service over an extended period of time, and the 2005 Bert Hatfield Award for Excelling in Worker Specialties which she accepted along with husband Bob. Judy attended many events throughout this last season as she managed the debilitating effects of ALS. She was honored with a large SCCA banner signed by a large number of her SCCA family at the end of the season. The banner had a prominent place in her room during her final days where she was visited by a continuous stream of friends. We will miss her, please keep Bob in your prayers. Bob has requested donations to ALS Association Central & Southern Ohio 866.273.2572 or www.alsa.org John Pfetzing Cincinnati Region lost one of our long time members recently. Despite living in Centerville, OH John remained a member of Cincinnati Region and served as a race steward and official for us on many occasions after hanging up his helmet. Known as the Racing Professor John, age 71, died January 27th of a heart condition. John taught math for 35 years at Sinclair College during the same period he also taught courses at Wright State and University of Dayton. Before that he taught at Ohio State. Weekends and summers allowed him to pursue his other passion, racing formula and sport cars. He competed in races at many different road courses in the U.S., Canada and England. His career as an amateur racecar driver became a profession for several years after his retirement from teaching. He passed his love of racing to his son J.D. a professional race driver and racing team owner who graduated from GMI. Give your best to JD next time you see him. Gifts in memory of John Pfetzing should be directed to the Sinclair Community College Foundation. Cincinnati Region SCCA will be making donations to the respective charities. 2009 Significant Membership Anniversaries 50 Years and more Roger Many - 51 years William B. Niemeyer Sr. 45 Years and more K. C. Van Niman - 47 Years Barney Powers Carol Haskins 40 Years Steve Benson Barbara & Mike Hynd John O Steen 35 Years Roberta (Bobbi) Ross 30 Years Peter O Shaughnessy 25 Years Dennis Barnes William Fair Robert Frank Paul Russ William Stevens 20 Years Gordon Crenshaw Jon Goins Richard Reenan Jeff Weyer 15 Years Joe Fisher Norm Goldrich Ian Haskell John Howaniec Dave & Justin Howard Erv Martin Mike Mooney Tom Phillips Brian Wade 10 Years Todd Cholmondeley Claire Frimming Renee Hines Robert Krumdieck Paul McClurg Yves Scemama Rodney Sizemore Mick Walker 5 Years Christian Bernhardt Colleen Cabe John Ebert James Forbis Wayne Furr Jr. Robert Habel Gregory Lloyd Aubrey Malott Roger & Dinah Winter
2010 SCCA National Convention By Jerry Cabe From the Cincinnati Region, five members attended the 2010 National Convention in Las Vegas. John Peterson as GLD Executive Steward, Wayne Briggs as the National Administrator of Sound Control, David Santel, Cincy Regional Executive, Dan Chambers, Cincy Treasurer, and myself as GLD Time Trial Program Manager. Dave, Dan and I traveled out together (somebody needed to keep an eye on the Treasurer in Vegas). This was the first time attending the SCCA Convention for all three of us. Our travels presented no real problems except for a flight delay on the return trip. Once we got registered and sat in on some of the larger sessions, the graying of the SCCA became obvious. I was there with probably the youngest attendee, and with the youngest looking attendee at the convention. However, only once did I see David get carded in the casino. I heard several comments that it was good to see capable young blood coming into the club and stepping into leadership roles. Usually, every convention has a theme or a defining initiative. The Make It Easy, Make It Fun from last year was carried into this year s convention, probably because there is still more to do in this regard. It also appeared that there was a strong emphasis on bringing customer satisfaction into the everyday operations, both at the national, and hopefully at the regional level. With an open mind to continuous improvement, we can all improve how we function and interact to make all we do more enjoyable. There were a lot of 2009 statistics presented. Overall SCCA (Inc, Pro and Enterprises) did well in a tough times year. Financials were all positive (I ll leave the details to Dan), but membership and member retention were down, which is probably the reason for the continuation of the Make It Easy, Make It Fun initiative. Something you will be seeing soon on the SCCA website is a What can I do with my car? dropdown tool. New or prospective members can use menus to select make, model and year of their car, and they can easily see various options of how they can participate in the SCCA with that car in each area (Solo, Time Trials, Rally, or Club Racing). Membership referral credits are going to be increased from $5 to $10 for each referral, and worker incentives will be increased from the current max of $30 to $45. I heard un-officially that SCCA Pro events will soon count toward days worked for the incentives. There are also going to be monetary incentives for regions that achieve goals of increased membership and member retention (detail target levels were not provided). The Time Trial Advisory Council (TTAC) reported that in 2009, a total of 114 Time Trial events (about equal with 2008) were held with over 3,000 participants. Level 4 events (Hill Climb) averaged 67 entrants per event. The Time Trial program is growing and taking hold across the divisions to varying degrees, depending on the level of prior activity in Solo I and Hill Climbs. The Club Racing Board (CRB) session reported the following statistics for 2009 as compared to 2008 in parenthesis. National events 71 (74), Regional events 236 (225), Driver Schools 25 (25), National Competition Licenses 4,588 (4,752), Regional Competition Licenses 2,166 (2,426), and Licensed Workers 3,861 (4,958). The sharp drop in workers was attributed largely to an effort to clean out old licenses. The requirements for the 2010 Runoffs will be 4 National starts with 4 National finishes, eliminating the top 10 in points from each division approach. Points will still count toward divisional championships, tow fund, Triple Crown, and the Super Sweep Award. Membership Services reported that for 2009 there were 42,521 members (down 10%), 72.5% retention (down from 76%), and 9,089 new members with 53% of them under age 35. During the CRB Town Hall, several questions/comments were fielded and discussed. I noted that it appears there is no near-term effort to include hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles in Club Racing (except for TDI Cup diesels). Reasoning is that there exist several unresolved issues with participant and worker safety at this time. It was also noted that with the recent allowance of 15-year olds to participate in competition (under close scrutiny) that there is an investigation into allowing 15-year old workers in hot areas like F&C (however, tracks like Mid-Ohio may still have restrictions). The rewriting of the GCR for 2010 is complete and the copy that is on-line is the Official GCR. The re-write attempts to better organize the manual and move procedural stuff to the appropriate operating manual. Printed copies for those that requested them (or generally receive them like Tech), should be mailed out in February.
S.C.C.A. CINCINNATI REGION CINCHRONIZER c/o The Tomeys 3823 Springoak Drive Cincinnati, Ohio 45248 We re on the Web! www.cincyscca.com Next Meeting: Tuesday, February 16th at Mill Race Banquet Center in Winton Woods at 8:00 pm. Coming A-TRACK-tions February 8 - Race Meeting 7pm Uno s 16 - Monthly Meeting 8 pm 25-28 Auto Expo March 16 - Monthly Meeting 8 pm 20 - GLDiv Solo Spring Training Wouldn t it have been great to see all these pictures in color? An email subscription is the answer! The Sports Car Store provides dealer quality service at about half the price. We receive our parts direct from the distributors and pass the savings on to you. Owner, Steve Mains has personally been working on import cars for over forty years. If you own a Mercedes - Benz, BMW, Porsche, Audi, Jaguar, Ferrari, Saab, Rolls - Royce, Bentley, Lamborghini, Saab, Volvo, MG, Triumph, Volkswagen (air or water cooled), we want to be your service and repair specialists. 7659 Turfway Rd. Florence, KY www.sportscarstore.net 859-283-0800